Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis conferred with the foreign ministrys
leadership on Tuesday regarding the upcoming visit to Athens of Turkish
Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as the formers state visit to
Washington next month.

According to reports, Molyviatis expressed his satisfaction with the
results of Monday's EU Foreign Ministers' council meeting in Brussels,
while citing displeasure by London and Berlin with the April 24
decision by the Greek Cypriot community. The same sources said the
veteran diplomat told Cabinet members that EU member-states,
nevertheless, have a positive view of Athens' position on the recent
Cyprus developments.

Meanwhile, in reference to Wednesdays meeting between Karamanlis and
visiting Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos, the government spokesman
underlined the coordinated actions by both governments in Brussels and
at all EU fora.

Asked about Greek-Turkish relations in the wake of the ?no? vote by
Greek Cypriots to the Annan peace plan, spokesman Thodoris Roussopoulos
reiterated that Athens has disengaged the referendum result from the
policy of improving bilateral relations and Turkeys burgeoning European
orientation.

Finally, in answer to press questions about the Annan peace plan
itself, Roussopoulos said it ?may return, no one can say that it is
finished?. He said this issue will be discussed on Wednesday.

The Greek government on Tuesday announced its decision to seek a
restructuring of state hospitals' debt to suppliers of medical and
healthcare equipment, totalling 2.0 billion euros, by next month.

Speaking to reporters, after a cabinet meeting, Health and Social
Solidarity Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis said that after the
restructuring of the debt the government would seek a reform of the
supply system in the Health sector, as envisaged in the government's
economic programme.

According to ministry officials, the restructuring of the debt would be
made through bond issuance.

Kaklamanis said that the government's next goal was to draft a new law
envisaging the abolition of medicine lists, a move aimed to reduce
healthcare costs.

World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) President Andrew Athens on
Tuesday briefed Greek Parliament President Anna Psarouda-Benaki on the
SAE's activities and in particular regarding the granting of medical
services to Greeks of countries of the former Soviet Union.

At the same time, Athens took the opportunity to congratulate her on
her election as parliament president.

Psarouda-Benaki on her part hailed the work carried out by the SAE and
promised the Greek parliament's undivided support to the Council's
efforts to promote and implement its objectives.

Parliament speaker Anna Psarouda-Benaki on Tuesday received Council of
Hellenes Abroad (SAE) President Andrew Athens, who congratulated her on
assuming her new position and briefed her on SAE activities around the
world, particularly regarding the provision of health care services to
ethnic Greeks in former Soviet countries through a chain of Medical
Centres.

Psarouda-Benaki congratulated the SAE on its work and promised
Parliament's unstinting support in efforts to promote and implement its
plans.

She also underlined the potential benefits of deeper cooperation with
Parliament's new cross-party committee for overseas Hellenes and
developing closer ties between the Greek Parliament and the U.S.
Congress.

ANKARA (ANA - A. Kourkoulas) The crisis in relations between the
Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Church of Greece has deepened following
the unexpected elections of metropolitans for vacant 'New Lands'
dioceses in northern Greece by an emergency meeting of the Hierarchy of
the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece.

Phanar mobilised its response on Tuesday, calling a major Holy Synod
meeting of independent Orthodox Churches to examine the situation
created by what it sees as unilateral actions on the part of Archbishop
of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos.

The Synod is expected to include church leaders attached to the
Ecumenical throne in countries ranging from faraway Korea to the
Dodecanese islands, Crete, Europe and America.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate claimed that it had not yet been officially
informed about any of the actions and decisions initiated on Monday by
Christodoulos.

The way that the elections were arranged has deepened conviction in
Phanar that the Greek Archbishop's aim was not to defuse the
ecclesiastical crisis and find a solution but to make a ''show of
strength''. Patriarchate officials are also incensed and embittered
over what they see as a ''misinformation campaign'' begun by Athens.

They point out that Christodoulos' actions are now based on a slim
majority that is foreign to the traditions of the Church, where
decisions on such issues are almost always unanimous.

Church of Greece prelates met for an emergency meeting on Monday that
first voted in favour of an agreement with the Patriarchate that
declared respect and acceptance of a 1928 act governing ecclesiastical
administration of the 'New Lands'.

In a much more closely contested vote immediately afterward, however,
the meeting decided to immediately proceed with episcopal elections for
the vacant sees of Thessaloniki, Eleftheroupoli, Mesogaia and Kozani.

After fierce and sometimes acrimonious debate in which some
metropolitans and bishops walked out, this motion was eventually passed
by 35 votes for, 23 against, eight blank votes and five abstentions.

After a marathon session lasting nine hours, in which those who walked
out in protest were considered as 'absent', the Church Hierarchy
approved the transfer of Metropolitan Anthimos to Thessaloniki, the
election of Archmandrite Chrysostomos Avagianos in Eleftheroupoli,
Archmandrite Pavlos Papalexiou in Kozani and Archmandrite Nikolaos
Hatzinikolaou, head of the Bioethics Committee, for Mesogaia.

Patriarch Vartholomeos has already warned that Phanar will not
recognise the elections of the new metropolitans arranged by
Christodoulos, while threatening to break ''communion'' with the
Archbishop if he went ahead with this course of action.

A proposal for a common session of the Patriarchate's Major Synod and
the Synod of the Church of Greece was made on Tuesday by main
opposition PASOK's parliamentary spokesman Haris Kastanidis, who warned
that the crisis could have "dire consequences on both a Canonical and a
national level, with serious geopolitical repercussions".

Kastanidis said that a clash should be avoided and said his party was
ready to undertake initiatives as soon as possible, stressing that this
stance should be mirrored by other political parties.

[08] Verheugen: Any EU office in occupied Cyprus in no way a recognition

27/04/2004 19:06:19

BRUSSELS (ANA V. Demiris) EU Commission for enlargement Guenter
Verheugen on Tuesday cited the Unions intention to open an office in
the occupied part of Nicosia in order control future financial
assistance to the Turkish Cypriot community.

Speaking here during joint session of the European Parliaments foreign
affairs committee with the EU-Cyprus parliamentary committee, Verheugen
referred to the need for direct cooperation with the Turkish Cypriots,
while reiterating that this absolutely does not constitute any
recognition of the breakaway Turkish-occupied portion of the island
republic.

The EU Commission also emphasized that efforts to solve the
long-standing Cyprus issue and reunify the island must not be
abandoned.

Conversely, he hinted at a ?Taiwan? option for the Turkish-occupied
north, namely, no recognition but commercial relations with the EU.

Verheugen, moreover, was also critical of the stance of the
Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Cyprus ecclesiastical leadership as
well as of the positions taken by Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos
in the run-up to the referenda on the Annan peace plan, which the Greek
Cypriot side flatly rejected.

Conversely, he praised the stance by former Cyprus presidents Glafcos
Clerides and George Vassiliou.

Finally, he appeared pessimistic over the prospect of another UN
initiative in the near future for a solution to the Cyprus problem.

BUCHAREST (ANA) Greek President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos
was received by his Romanian counterpart Ion Iliescu on Tuesday, during
an official visit to Romania.

They noted the positive development of bilateral relations and
cooperation on a regional level in the Balkans, as well as joint
efforts by Greece and Romania for stability in the region.

The two leaders reaffirmed the harmonious bilateral relations of their
two countries, while Stephanopoulos expressed satisfaction at Romania's
European orientation, as well as that of other Balkan countries.

He said Greece will assist Romania's efforts to join the EU as soon as
possible.

Iliescu expressed satisfaction with Greece's steadfast support of his
country's accession to NATO and the EU and said that relations between
the two countries were a factor for stability in the region.

Sunny weather is forecast in all parts of the country. Winds northerly,
light to moderate, turning strong in parts of the Aegean. It will be
warmer. Temperatures in Athens from 12C to 21C and in Thessaloniki
between 11C and 20C.